The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1887-10-27

new farmland build towns and cities and
railroads, and extend our manufacturing
Industries. is to be attributed to the fact
that othey have been compelled to, pay
enormously high taxes. Macaulay says,
'that no ordinary misfortune, no ordinary
nisgovernment, will do so much to make
. nation wretched as the constant progress
Of physical knowledge, and the constant
ekort of, every nan to better himself will
do to make nation prosperous. It has
sften been found that profuse expenditure,
heavy taxation, ABSURD COMMERCIAL RE
sTRIcTIoNs. corrupt tribunals, disastrous
wars, seditions, prosecutions, confagra-
tions, foundations, have not been able to
destroy capital as fast as the exertions of
private citizens have been able to create
t." Is the reason Governor Foraker gives
why we have more farms, cities, railroads,
&C., now than in 1860 the true one, or is
the real one to be found in the fact stated
by the great statesman and historian whose
words have quotedp
The Governor of Ohio surely ought to be
familiar with the statistics of this State. II
he will take the trouble to look the matter up
he will find that the total aggregate wealth
Of the State, as shown by the sworn valua.
tion of every description of property. more
than doubled between 1850 and 1850. II
did not do that in tee succeeding twenty
four years Of high tariff by more than
500 900 600, and yet the claim is that wa
were never so prosperous.
But now let Us look at the juciest para
graph of this ma chless production. This
Is saying good deal, for the juice is in
every line and sentence. Our patriotic
Governor says: "The old time stock argu.
ment of the free trader, that the tariff
A,rfSo q Sow k1o L.,
80 completely exploded by p actical results
that it is no longer heard of, except only
FROM those who obstinately refuse to see
the conclusive demonstrations to the CON
trary that abound ON every hand" Pray,
who pays the tariff tax if the consumes
does not2 The government collects over
$500, ,000, 900 year of tariff taxes. Some,
body must pay this money, for it is paid.
Do merchants do it without raising the
price of their goods to the consumers? ID
1t possible that there is another man in
the world except Governor Foraker who
does not ''obsfinately" believe that it il
the man who consumes the goods who pays
the tax on them, just as certainly as hs
pays for anv other item of their costf
When Mr. Sherman read that sentence, he
must have laughed in his sleeve at the ides
that he and Foraker can ever be rivals.
But in each succeeding sentence oui
worthy Governor seems to be endoavorine
to excel everything he has hitherto said in
error ard folly. He says that when
farmer sells anything he produces from
dozen of eggs to the finest horse ON his
farm, it brings him price from fifty to
two hundred per cent higher than he ever
dreamed ef in free trade times" Such q
statement as this can only be excused bJ
the Governors youth and utter Ignorance
Of what he is talking about. If he viii
carefully examine the official market reports
of the United States, he will find that foi
nearly every one of our most important
agricultural productions, the average
prices were higher during the free trade
times, for which he has such a contempt,
than they have been since. Wheat aver
aged higher; corn averaged higher; oats
averaged higher; wool averaged higher;
pork (mess1 averaged higher; timothy
seed averaged higher; -four aver.
aged higher; clover seed averaged higher,
and for the ten years Immediately preced.
ing the breaking out of the war, and the
increase of the tariff, the price Of cotton
was higher than it has been for the last
ton years.
1t is only fair to Governor Foraker to
say that in his Middletown speech he ad.
mltteQ tnat Iarm produce, instead or being
from fifty TO two hundred per cent. higher
under protection than under free trade,
has actually been lower. Somebody has
been giving our Governor little useful
information. But then, behold the tri-
umph of wit and genius! He told the
farmers of Butler county that, even if
prices of farm produce are lower, freights
sre cheaper now than thirty years ago.
Why did he not go further and assure
them that freights are cheaper solely be-
cause the enormous duty on steel rail has
enabled tie railroads to charge lower ratesP
That would have rounded out the logic
beautifully.
am well aware that there is great deal
Of mis,nformation and needless talk about
the higher prices which have obtained for
farm produce in recent years; but l
have seen no statement so utterly at vari-
ance with the truth as this made by the
Governor of Ohio. Perhaps, however, |
ought not to say that in view of the state
nent which Immediately follows this in
the Forum article. He says: "While sub
stantially every article he (the farmer)
buys is from Fifty to two hundred per cent
cheaper, and from fifty to five hundred per